


Best Laid Plans

by SecretMaker



Series: Tumblr Drabbles 2015 [131]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Multi, Soulmate AU, This week on 'I didnt' mean for this to have chapters'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-03 11:18:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5288705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretMaker/pseuds/SecretMaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The kanji for luck is really similar to the kanji for spicy, and I think that's genuinely hilarious.</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
11-4-15  
Prompt:  
Pairing: KuroBokuAkaKen  
Rating:  
  
Kenma couldn’t help but scratch at his wrist while Kuroo led him across the park. The damn thing had been itching all day, no matter how he adjusted the band he wore across it. Kenma hated thinking about the faulty numbers scrawled across his wrist.  
  
“Why did I have to come, again?” he grumbled. Kuroo just snorted and grabbed his hand.  
  
“Because I have a feeling you’re gonna love this guy,” Kuroo answered, tugging him a little faster. Kenma wrinkled his nose.  
  
“I thought you said he was just like you.”  
  
“Ouch, Kenma, and here I thought we were friends.” Kenma snickered under his breath and tugged his hand out of Kuroo’s, falling into step beside him. He walked close enough that their shoulders brushed. Kuroo seemed to understand, wrapping an arm around Kenma’s shoulders and holding him tight to his side, but not pressing any further.  
  
By the time they reached the other side of the park, Kenma’s wrist was all but burning. Kuroo gave a shout and jogged off toward a boy with floppy white-and-black hair, and Kenma took the moment to jerk his sleeve up, pulling aside the leather bracelet he wore over his numbers.  
  
00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 01   
  
Kenma frowned. That one wasn’t moving, but there was nothing unusual about that. Kenma’s timer had never moved.  
  
The problem was that this morning - and every other morning for as long as Kenma could remember - that one had been a two. Kenma stared at his wrist incredulously. Distantly, he could hear Kuroo talking to the boy, but he couldn’t bring himself to pay attention. As Kenma stared at his wrist, the voices grew closer.  
  
“Oh, wait, no way!” shouted the unfamiliar of the two. Kenma stiffened and looked up to see him scrabbling at his watch. He pulled it off and hooted loudly, waving his hand around in the air.  
  
“Dude, I told you,” Kuroo said.  
  
“Yeah, but it’s still awesome!” shouted the other.  
  
“Care to fill me in?” Kenma mumbled, only loud enough for Kuroo to hear. Kuroo grinned and grabbed the boy’s wrist, holding it - and his own - out for Kenma to see.  
  
00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 01  
  
Kenma stared incredulously. He had never seen Kuroo’s numbers before, preferring to ignore the subject entirely. But now there were two people in front of him with their timers stuck at exactly the same point as his.  
  
“I wonder why they’re still stuck, though,” said the boy, staring at their wrists with an adorably confused expression. Kuroo shrugged.  
  
“Maybe we’re not done yet,” he said.  
  
“Aw, that’d be awesome!” the boy yelled. “Four soulmates!”  
  
“Four what?” hissed Kenma, still clutching his wrist close to his chest.  
  
“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Kuroo asked. “I thought that you and I were just a fluke, since both of our timers stopped at two seconds rather than timing out, but then when I met Bokuto here his stopped at two and mine went down to one. So I figured I’d bring you to meet him and see what happened, and look!” Kuroo waved excitedly. “It has to mean something!”  
  
“Yeah! Maybe we could find one more person, and all four of our timers will hit zero!” Bokuto was bouncing in place and Kuroo was ginning between the two of them and Kenma wanted to curl up and never emerge again. Kuroo noticed, because of course he did, and put a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder.  
  
“Okay, Kenma, we can go home now if you want,” he said softly. Panic flooded Kenma’s veins and he shook his head wildly, hunching inward.   
  
“Nah, you don’t have to go,” Bokuto said. “I’m actually supposed to meet with my team so we can go to the sports store. I’ve been thinking about some long kneepads.” He and Kuroo said their goodbyes, and then it was just the two of them in the park.  
  
“Come on, Kitten,” Kuroo said. He settled an arm around Kenma’s shoulder and steered him toward a tree, sitting with his back to it and Kenma curled in his lap. “It’s okay. I’m sorry, I should have realized that would overwhelm you.” Kenma shook his head, hiding his face in the collar of his jacket.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me your timer didn’t work?” he whispered.  
  
“I thought you knew,” Kuroo said. “I figured that was why you didn’t want to talk about it, because even though I was your soulmate, I clearly wasn’t enough. I’m sorry.” Kenma wanted to protest, to remind Kuroo that he was the broken one. But words were never Kenma’s strong point. They caught in his throat and dripped back down like mucus, or bile. He shook his head, pressing his face deeper into Kuroo’s shirt.   
  
“Not you,” he whispered. It felt as though those two words had been the most difficult he had ever said, more difficult than coming out to his parents, more difficult than meeting his teammates for the first time two years ago, more difficult than absolutely anything. Kuroo rubbed a large palm up and down Kenma’s back.  
  
“I promise, Kenma, you’re more than enough for me,” he said.  
  
 _Clearly not._  
  
“No, I mean it,” Kuroo insisted. “If I never saw Bokuto again and we never met our fourth person, I would want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you.”  
  
 _No you wouldn’t._  
  
“I really would. You’re my best friend for a reason.”  
  
 _It was convenient._  
  
“And I get it if you don’t want to be my friend anymore.” Kenma jerked back to stare at Kuroo, his heart breaking at the expression on his face.   
  
“Why would I not be your friend?” he whispered, dreading the answer.  
  
“Because of all this?” Kuroo answered. His face grew confused. “Because I let you think there was something wrong with you, and then I dragged you here to meet a person I knew would overwhelm you, soulmate or no, because I know you’re only my friend because I kept coming over when we were kids, but now we’re old enough that you don’t have to put up with me.”  
  
Kenma wasn’t sure if he was more angry or saddened at the words pouring out of Kuroo, but he was sure that this was more emotion than he had ever felt before. His nose and eyes stung, and all at once he was sobbing and punching Kuroo and trembling and he wanted to shout, wanted to scream until there was nothing left, no voice, no emotion, no tears, no stupid timers telling him that he would never be whole, never be good enough for whatever person was out there who was unlucky enough to match him, for Kuroo, for Bokuto, for the mysterious fourth.  
  
For his part, Kuroo just took the abuse. When Kenma exhausted himself and slumped against Kuroo’s chest, he held him close, rocking back and forth.  
  
“You’re the best thing I have,” he sobbed. One hand clutched at the fabric of Kuroo’s shirt, the other - the traitor - was curled against his body. “Don’t leave me.”  
  
“I would never,” Kuroo whispered. “You’re stuck with me forever, Kitten.” It didn’t matter if it was the sentiment or the old, irritating nickname that did it, but Kenma’s mood lifted. He moved a hand to Kuroo’s shoulder, sliding it down until it cupped the back of his wrist. Kuroo allowed him to angle his hand palm-upwards, marveling at the neat row of numbers etched there. He traced his finger along them, feeling the warmth from the skin as he did so.  
  
“I thought I would be alone forever,” Kenma murmured. Kuroo whimpered and clutched Kenma against him.  
  
“I would never let that happen,” he said fiercely.  
  
“I know,” Kenma replied. “I just- _four_.”  
  
“Listen, you don’t have to get to know them if you don’t want to,” Kuroo said. “I already told Bokuto, I’ll go along with whatever makes you feel comfortable.”  
  
“I want to get to know them,” Kenma replied. Kuroo’s arms tightened even more.  
  
“Good,” he breathed into Kenma’s hair. “Good, I’m glad.”  
  
Kenma stared up at his friend, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You _like_ him,” he teased, delighting in the flush that crossed Kuroo’s cheeks.  
  
“So what?” he huffed, looking away.  
  
“Nothing,” Kenma replied. He was smiling wider now. “So, what do you know about him?”  
  
“Why, so you can make fun of me?” Kuroo grumbled. Kenma snorted and leaned his head against Kuroo’s shoulder.  
  
“No, idiot, so I can get to know him,” he said. He could just see the edge of Kuroo’s grin from this angle.  
  
“Well, his name’s Bokuto Koutarou, and he’s a first year at Fukurodani,” Kuroo started.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Bokuto became a regular fixture in Kenma’s life after that first meeting in the park. It was obvious that Kuroo liked him: every time he was around, Kuroo grew even more buoyant than normal. The two of them played off of each other, pumping up louder and louder and bigger and bigger until Kenma got  headache just from watching them.   
  
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to dislike it. Bokuto was loud, sure, but he was also considerate of Kenma. He never pressed too hard, never made any move without checking that Kenma was okay with it first. He went out of his way to make Kenma smile and lit up like a floodlight whenever he succeeded. Kenma loved - honestly loved - to watch him with Kuroo; Kenma’s best friend had never played so freely with anyone before, not like he did with Bokuto. The two of them wrestled and joked and bounced around in ways that had always exhausted Kenma.   
  
Bokuto asked Kenma about it one day, when Kenma had been especially chatty and the three of them were sitting around in Kuroo’s living room. Kuroo had gone to the kitchen to get some drinks and Bokuto had scooted closer to Kenma, an adorably earnest look on his face.  
  
“You smile whenever you watch me and Tetsu,” he said abruptly. “How come?”   
  
Kenma blinked at him for a moment, then looked down at his lap. “It’s… nice,” he said at last.  
  
“What d’you mean?” Bokuto asked. Kenma shrugged.  
  
“We’ve been friends since we were kids, but we never played together like you two do,” he answered. “It’s nice to see him act like a kid sometimes.”  
  
“He is a kid,” Bokuto pointed out. Kenma nodded.  
  
“I know that, but he doesn’t,” he explained. “He’s been taking care of me our entire lives. He never had someone to just goof off with until he met you.” Bokuto nodded, his face pensive, and folded his arms on the table, leaning his chin on top of them. Kuroo came back with a tray of drinks and engaged Bokuto in a friendly argument over some tv show they had been watching. Kenma grinned to himself and pretended to play his game while he listened in.  
  
  
  
Kuroo and Bokuto were up to something. Kenma knew better than to hope that the two of them whispering and giggling together in the kitchen was a good sign. He groaned and set down his game, going to check on them.  
  
“You two had better not be making a mess in here,” he said as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Kuroo and Bokuto covered from head to toe in flour and icing, grinning proudly. Between them on the counter was a lopsided pie of some sort. Kenma sniffed the air cautiously, relieved to find that nothing smelled burnt. “What are you up to?” he asked.   
  
“We made you a pie!” Bokuto shouted.  
  
“I can see that,” Kenma said. “Why?”  
  
“Because tomorrow’s your first day of high school, Kuroo told him. “We wanted to celebrate.” Kenma rolled his eyes, but he had to bite back a smile.  
  
“Okay, but why the icing?” he asked. Bokuto looked sheepish.  
  
“I wanted to write good luck on it,” he said, scratching the back of his head. Curious, Kenma moved to look at the pie. There, in squiggling kanji, Bokuto had written ‘Spicy’ across the top of the pie.  
  
“You were close,” Kenma admitted. He turned to his grinning soulmates and let himself smile at them. “Thank you,” he said.   
  
“You’re welcome, Kitten,” Kuroo answered, dropping an arm around Kenma’s shoulders.  
  
“Come one! Try a slice!” Bokuto shouted. Kenma smiled and took a knife from the drawer.  
  
“I hope this isn’t actually spicy,” he joked as he cut into it.  
  
It wasn’t. It was sweet and warm and everything that was wonderful in the world. Kenma ate four slices before Kuroo could stop him, shoveling one after another into his mouth while Bokuto looked on, awed. Kenma shot him a cheeky grin while Kuroo stashed the pie in the highest cabinet he could find.  
  
“That’s not going to stop me, Kuro,” he said. Kuroo snorted.  
  
“It’ll slow you down,” he answered. “Face it, you’re too lazy to go up there for at least another couple of hours.” Kenma hummed, considering the fullness of his stomach and the warmth in his chest.  
  
“Maybe,” he admitted. “But probably not.” Kuroo turned to face him with a smirk.  
  
“Come on, you can school us in that game you just bought,” he offered. Bokuto let out a whine and slumped.  
  
“No fair, he always wins at video games,” he pouted.  
  
“It’s not my fault you suck,” Kenma pointed out. He followed Kuroo out of the kitchen, listening to Bokuto slump along behind him.  
  
  
  
BOKUTOWL: [Guys.]  
  
BOKUTOWL: [Guys you need to come here.]  
  
KOOLROO: [Bo, we can’t. We’ve got training today]  
  
BOKUTOWL: [No I mean it. my wrist’s been itching like crazy, and I think our last soulmate is gonna be at tryouts this afternoon.]  
  
Kenma stared down at his phone, trying to swallow the sense of dread rising in his throat. The past eight months had been enough for him to get used to the idea of Bokuto and Kuroo being his soulmates, but he still hadn’t processed the idea of a fourth. Every time one of the other two had brought it up, Kenma had closed himself out of the conversation, diving into whatever game was closest to him. But now that it was happening, there was nowhere to run. He could only hope that Kuroo would convince Bokuto that they had to wait.  
  
KOOLROO: [K bro we’ll be there at about four.]  
  
Kenma swore softly. Kuroo wouldn’t have thought to argue, after all. Kenma hadn’t said anything about his hesitation, and he had told Kuroo that he wanted to give it a shot. He glanced at the clock. There were only twenty minutes left in class, and then he had to find Kuroo so that they could tell their captain why they would be missing the second practice of the year.  
  
He grimaced. That wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. Even if Kenma let Kuroo do all the talking like normal, it would mean showing the captain the numbers on his wrist. The third years already looked down on him enough. Finding out he was a freak with two extra soulmates would only make it worse.  
  
His phone chimed again, this time with a direct message from Kuroo.  
  
KURO: [You okay with this Kitten?]  
  
ME: [Do I have a choice?]  
  
He could almost hear Kuroo’s chuckle, and the though calmed him somewhat.  
  
ME: [I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to meet them, Kuro. We may as well get it over with.]  
  
KURO: [You don’t have to. Neither of us will blame you if you want to back out.]   
  
ME: [I’m fine. BUt you get to explain to the team and Coach why we have to miss.]  
  
KURO: [It’s all good. You got a stomach bug and I promised your mom I’d take care of you. I already texted Kai. Meet me at the gate?]  
  
ME: [Yeah. Be ther ein ten minutes.]  
  
  
  
Kenma didn’t even try to resist the urge to hide behind Kuroo when they entered Fukurodani’s gym. They stood on the balcony, watching as Bokuto bounded up to each new member who walked through the door, waiting. Each time Bokuto grinned and waved the new person over to the rest of the team, Kenma’s heart beat a little faster.  
  
“Where are they?” he whispered. His own wrist had been itching faintly since they had gotten on the train, and Kuroo had been scratching at his as well. The itch became a burn and Kuroo stood a bit straighter. Kenma backed against the wall, sliding down into a crouch and clutching his hand to his chest as Bokuto let out a loud hoot below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kanji for luck is really similar to the kanji for spicy, and I think that's genuinely hilarious.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Keiji’s wrist had been itching all day, and frankly, he didn’t have time for it. The damn thing was set to end sometime during his first high school volleyball practice, so anyone on the team was a potential soulmate. It wasn’t an idea he cherished.  
  
He cherished the thought of telling his mother he was destined to be with a teammate even less. She had a long-standing dream that he would meet his soulmate at a law firm, or in a library, or a concert hall, or a theatre, or a-  
  
Not a high school gym.  
  
Keiji sighed and gathered his things at the end of class, trying to push the timer to the back of his mind. He couldn’t afford to be late to the first practice, soulmate or no. Still, he took his time walking over to the gym, and he took his time getting changed. None of the other first years in the locker room made the numbers stop, which meant it had to be either a senpai or a manager.   
  
Keiji glanced at his wrist and grimaced. He could technically stay here for another forty-three seconds, forcing his first meeting to happen somewhere private, but if he did so he would be late for practice, thereby negating the point of showing up in the first place. Keiji sighed heavily and tightened his shoelaces before stepping out into the gym.  
  
Hoot.  
  
That was the noise that ripped out of the wild-haired second-year who all but crashed into Keiji just outside the locker room door. Hoot. Like an excitable owl, which, judging by the boy’s hair, was the effect he was going for. Keiji’s wrist seared white-hot, then settled slightly and he had to stifle the urge to groan.  
  
“Holy crap, it worked!” the boy shouted, staring at his wrist gleefully. He turned to grin up at someone on the balcony. Keiji glanced down at his own wrist to confirm.  
  
00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 02  
  
Keiji furrowed his brow, staring at the unmoving two. He had never heard of numbers stopping like that. He glanced back up at the grinning owl boy, then stared down at his wrist some more.  
  
“Hey,” the boy said softly. “It’s okay. Come with me, I’ll explain.” Keiji found himself nodding and then large, rough, surprisingly gentle hands were guiding him out of the gym. The boy led him behind the building to a few battered chairs, clearly pilfered from classrooms over the years. He sat Keiji down in one of them and took his own seat across form him.   
  
“I-” Keiji started, frowning when he realized he didn’t know how that sentence ended.  
  
“It’s alright,” the boy said. “Your timer stopped at two seconds, right?” Surprised, Keiji nodded. The boy gave him a gentle smile.  
  
“How did you know that?” Keiji asked.  
  
“Because mine did the same thing about eight months ago,” he said. “When I met my first soulmate, Kuroo. His had stopped at two seconds when he was five and he met his first soulmate, Kenma. Then I met Kenma and all three of our timers stopped at one second, so we figured we had one more to go. Then just now when I met you, mine moved down to zero.” He shuffled forward, looking at Keiji with earnest golden eyes. “Do you understand?” he asked.  
  
“I… understand,” Keiji said slowly. “I’m just not sure I believe you.” The boy nodded.   
  
“That’s fair,” he said. “Kuroo and Kenma are both here too. Do you think you’d be willing to meet them, to see if your wrist times out?” he suggested. Keiji considered.  
  
On the one hand, this boy had no real reason to lie about this. If it had all been a prank, he wouldn’t have been able to predict Keiji’s time ending where it did. On the other, it would be difficult enough explaining that Owl-Senpai was his soulmate without having to introduce her to two more. If it was even true in the first place.  
  
Deciding it was better to know for sure, Keiji nodded. The boy let out another excited hoot and stood, rushing to the door. He paused and looked back at Keiji with a wide grin.  
  
“Oh, I’m Bokuto, by the way,” he said. “Bokuto Koutarou.”  
  
“Akaashi Keiji,” answered Keiji softly. Bokuto grinned even wider and disappeared inside the gym.  
  
Keiji sat very still and very straight. He kept his shoulders back and his chin high, just like his father had always taught him. the only sign to betray his nervousness was the hand which cupped his left wrist. He waited in silence for less than three minutes before Bokuto came bursting though the door, this time followed by a lanky boy with equally atrocious hair. Keiji’s wrist seared again and both he and the other looked down.  
  
00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 01  
  
“Akaashi?” Keiji looked up at the boy who was watching him with a nervous smile. “I’m Kuroo Tetsurou,” he said. Keiji looked down.  
  
“So he wasn’t making it up,” he murmured. Kuroo laughed.  
  
“Yeah, it does seem pretty implausible,” he agreed. “I spent the longest time thinking something was wring with me before I met Kouta.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. “Kenma did too.”  
  
“You have to know how ridiculous this all sounds,” Keiji said. Kuroo snorted.  
  
“Believe me, I know,” he said. “And I get that it’s a lot to take in at once. We’ve all had a few months to get used to the idea.”  
  
“Speaking of, I thought Bokuto-san said there was another person,” Keiji said. Kuroo grimaced harder.  
  
“Kenma’s… shy,” he said. “Really shy. He’s honestly terrified to meet you.” Keiji blinked. Who would be nervous to meet him? Quiet, polite, unassuming Keiji who never caused waves, never spoke too loud. Of course, Keiji reasoned, with these two as soulmates, anyone would be nervous to meet another.  
  
“I don’t want to press,” Keiji said after some time. Kuroo smiled, looking relieved.  
  
“I promise, he does want to meet you,” he said. “It’s just- it’s my fault, really. When we were kids and our timers stopped early, I didn’t say anything because I thought it meant Kenma didn’t want me as his soulmate. So then he spent the next ten years thinking that he was broken somehow. He’s worried that he’ll ruin any sort of relationship he’ll get into.”  
  
“Bro, he told you all that?” asked Bokuto. Kuroo rolled his eyes.  
  
“Of course he didn’t,” he said. “He’d have to actually talk about his feelings for that to happen. I inferred.” He frowned, looking toward the door. “I should actually go find him. He doesn’t do well alone in crowds-”  
  
“Kuro?” Three sets of eyes turned to where a small figure was huddled just inside the door. Keiji could make out longish black hair and pale skin wrapped in a red jacket, but couldn’t see any more of who he realized was probably Kenma. Keiji stood slowly and moved back against the wall.  
  
“Kenma-san, I promise, you’ll be okay,” Keiji said softly. “I’m going to turn away now, so you decide if you want to come out or not. It’s your choice, okay?” Without waiting for an answer Keiji turned his back to the door.   
  
It seemed to Keiji that they stood like that for days. He kept his eyes fixed in front of him, watching a sparrow flit around at the base of a tree. There was a quiet rustle behind him and still he stared at the sparrow, until suddenly there was a boy in front of him, all slender limbs and big, gold eyes. Keiji’s wrist gave one last pulse of searing heat, then settled entirely.  
  
“Thank you,” he whispered. Kenma’s eyes widened and Keiji found himself knocked to the ground, Kenma in his lap with his face buried in Keiji’s shirt. Kenma’s shoulders began to shake and Keiji wrapped his arms around them, holding him to his chest. With a pang Keiji realized that Kenma was clutching his own wrist tight, holding it between them as he sobbed. “It’s okay,” he whispered, rocking them back and forth gently. “You’re okay. You’re whole now.” Keiji pressed his face into Kenma’s hair and breathed into it gently. Sitting up a little straighter, he coaxed Kenma into releasing his wrist. He took it into his own grip, gently, as though it might break, and held it out for Kenma to see.  
  
00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00 : 00

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://notsuchasecret.tumblr.com)


End file.
